Gear mechanisms, which convert rotary motions of a drive shaft into a back and forth motion, have long been used in surgery, for example, for motor-driven saws. They can, however, also be used for a plurality of other technical applications.
A gear mechanism, which converts a rotary motion of a drive shaft into a back and forth motion, is known from the WO 96/27093 of TANNER. This known gear mechanism comprises an axially disposed lever, which is mounted centrally at the housing, so that it can be rotated about an axis of rotation perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, is driven at one of its ends so as to oscillate about the axis of rotation by a cam, which is disposed eccentrically at the end of the drive shaft, and, at its other end, drives the tool carrier in an oscillating manner over a further cam. The axial arrangement of the lever, so that the longitudinal axis of the oscillating shaft is at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft, is a disadvantage of this known device.